Timeshare Glossary

Timeshare
Donations put together this Timeshare Glossary to help you become
familiar with many of the common and sometimes confusing words and phrases
used in the timeshare industry.

Accrued Weeks: The number of weeks that have
accrued from the prior
year and are now available for use in the current calendar year. Simply
put, accrued means the number of timeshare weeks that you have banked from
previous years that you can use his year.

Affiliated Resort: A developer or timeshare
resort, that is partnered with or owns resorts in more than 1 location. This
allows timeshare owners to use their week (or accrued weeks) at the affiliated resorts,
commonly found with vacation clubs.

Amenities: Features that add comfort,
convenience, and enjoyment all add to the value of the property. Outdoor pools,
full service marinas, golf courses, shuttle service, full kitchens,
free high speed internet, complimentary breakfast, etc. More amenities =
higher value and desirability which makes it easy for you to trade or donate
to charity.

Bank or Banked: When an owner decides
to not use their allocated time for the current year they can “bank” their time with a
timeshare exchange company to use at a later date.

Biennial: The time assigned to use your timeshare is
on an every other year basis. Every 2 Years.

Current Market Value: Current or Fair
market value is determined by recent sale prices of similar timeshares. One
advantage when you donate a timeshare is that the size of the tax deduction
is determined by the current market value of the timeshare, as opposed to
the cost of the timeshare when it was purchased (Moreover, when you donate a
timeshare instead of selling it outright, donors can avoid paying brokers'
fees.)

Deeded Property: A deed is a legal document
which is used to transfer from a person or entity ownership interest
providing the title to your property to another. It is used anytime someone
buys, sells, gifts or donate real estate. The deed is usually recorded
in the county or country where the property exists. The owner
may sell, rent, or donate timeshare to charity.

Developer: A company that owns the
timeshare resort..

Exchange: Trading an interval week at one
resort for an interval week at another resort or trading a specific week
at the home resort for another week at the same resort. The exchange system
allows an interval owner to trade their week with other interval owners
thereby allowing each owner to travel and vacation throughout the world.
Some resorts have internal exchanges with other resorts which are usually
owned by the same company. An example of this would be Sunterra Resorts.

Exchange Company: A company or organization
that accepts timeshare weeks on deposit from its interval owners/members to
establish a pool of weeks from which other members may select the resort and
vacation times of their choice. When a member deposits their week with an
exchange company, the company compares the week the depositor is asking for
with weeks deposited by other members and provides a suitable match based on
availability and value. Factors affecting the exchange value are - the
resorts' rating, the time division; i.e., prime time versus low time, the
size of the unit desired, etc.

Fee Simple: The preferred type of real estate ownership.
This type of interval ownership is the opposite of Right-to-Use or lease
ownership and continues forever. The owner holds a deed in his/her name
and the ownership of the property can be bequeathed to heirs.

Five Star Resort: Interval International
uses the 5-Star designation for their finest resorts. It is equivalent to
RCI's "Gold Crown Resort". These are timeshare resorts that offer only the
highest level of accommodations and services. The properties offer a high
degree of personal service. The resort locations can vary from the very
exclusive locations of a suburban area, to the heart of downtown. The
amenities often include - VCR's, CD stereos, garden tubs or Jacuzzis,
in-room video library, heated pools and more. Fitness Centers and valet
and/or garage parking are typically available. A concierge is also available
to assist you.

Fixed Unit: A time period that
is fixed for each calendar year, either by date or by calendar weeks; most
in numerical sequence 1-52. With a week number, your actual start date may
vary slightly from year to year. Unlike a floating unit, a interval owner
who owns a fixed unit at a resort will always vacation in the same physical
unit each year he/she vacations at that resort. This type of ownership is
particularly important if you have purchased, for example, an oceanfront
property with the ocean at your door step and are not willing to vacation
in an ocean-view unit. A fixed unit property assures the owner that he/she
will always have the exact location and the exact unit they have purchased.

Fixed Week: Referring to the interval calendar, the purchase
of a fixed week property assures the owners that they will always have the
same week each year; i.e., week 26. Alternatively, an owner of a floating
week may choose another week within their time division or may elect to
upgrade or downgrade to another time division to meet their annual vacation
schedule. Upgrading to a higher time division usually incurs an additional
cost.

Floating: Your time period is defined
by a season and your week period is not fixed. You reserve your time period
within the appropriate season annually. Most resorts have a High, Medium,
and Low Season. Owners of a floating unit at a resort may not vacation in
the same physical unit each year they vacation at their home resort. Interval
owners may request a specific unit and, if available for that particular
week, the resort normally will honor the request.

Floating Week: The purchaser of a floating week has the
flexibility of scheduling their vacation interval with yearly variations
in accordance with the resort's guidelines. Typically, resorts will accept
requests for specific weeks by the interval owner as soon as the annual
maintenance fees are paid. Therefore, the earlier the maintenance fees are
paid the better the chance that the owner can pick a specific interval week.

Fractional: Multiple week ownership
at the same resort--2 or more weeks of timeshare ownership for use in one
calendar year.

Gold Crown Resort: RCI's highest rating for
a resort. This is similar to Interval International's "Five star resort"
designation.

Home Resort: The resort stated on your purchase agreement
or deed that is provided by the company from which you purchased your timeshare
interval.

Interval Week: An assigned period of time. Based on the interval
calendar wherein the fifty-two weeks of the year are numbered sequentially:
Week 01 through Week 52 or Week 53. A specific interval week is a seven-day
period encompassing one of those fifty-two weeks.

Maintenance Fee: Maintenance fees are established and
collected by the Homeowners Association or Resort Management Company to
maintain the property, pay insurance, utilities, refurbishing and taxes.
These fees vary from resort to resort and with the type and size of the
unit purchased.

Odd or Even Year Usage: Timeshare ownership usage every
other year--some odd-numbered, some even. The ownership of this type of
interval is valued at one-half the value of a full ownership property since
the use is restricted to one-half of the annual usage.

Points: Programs offered to interval
owners by resorts that allow the owners choice and control over when and
where they vacation or for how long or short they stay. Points are a symbolic
unit of measure having no intrinsic value separate and apart from interval
ownership.

Property Taxes: These may be included with the maintenance
fees charged by the resort. Property taxes are regulated by the state in
which the timeshare resort is located. Some states may not require property
taxes to be paid on timeshare resorts, while others do.

Quartershare: 3-month interval ownership with rotating
schedule.

Quit Claim Deed: Legal document used to
release one person's right, title, or interest to another without providing
a guarantee or warranty of title. (I Did Thos One)

Resort Ratings: A system of comparison of resort quality,
amenities, and location. The two foremost rating systems are Resort Condominiums
International (RCI), Interval International (II). RCI and II rate their
affiliated resorts based upon predetermined criteria of exacting standards
of quality and services provided by the resort as well as the availability
of amenities at or near the resort. RCI uses the Gold Crown designation
for their highest quality resorts and Resorts of International Distinction
for second-level resorts. II designates their top resorts as 5-Star resorts.

Right To Use (RTU): Occupancy rights for a specified number
of years, with no ownership interest in the property. Some states and some
foreign countries do not allow deeded ownership of timeshares. Alternatively,
a lease ownership or Right-To-Use ownership grants the right to use the
property for a specified period of time; usually from 20 to 99 years. The
resort developer or Management Company holds ownership of the physical property.
However, during the right-to-use period, the owner may rent, transfer, or
bequeath the remaining years of their right-to-use property.

Season: Designated season of the year denoting period
of ownership for exchange or usage value.

Special Assessment: A fee over and above the annual maintenance
fee assessed by the resort pro rata to interval owners. This fee is, when
assessed, intended to defray expenses related to major repairs and refurbishing
of resort equipment, facilities, and units

Timeshare: An ownership to a resort property or unit that
is shared by others. Each owner has their own time period (typically one
week) in which they can utilize the facilities, amenities, accommodations
and all attributes associated with the resort. A timeshare is also known
as a “second home”.

Trading Power: The value assigned to one’s timeshare
when deposited with the owner’s exchange company and is related to
the exchanging of the owner’s unit to use at another time or location.

Unit Size: Normally expressed as hotel unit, studio unit,
and efficiency unit or by number of bedrooms. Hotel units, studio units,
and efficiency units typically are a single room with sleeping accommodations
and perhaps a small built in kitchen and sleep from two to four persons.
One, two or three or more bedroom units are usually condominium style accommodations
and feature a partial or full kitchen and other living areas.

Vacation Clubs: A type of ownership where an owner belongs
to a club that includes several timeshare locations and is usually set up
as a point based program. This allows an owner to do an internal exchange
within the resort system they purchased to use at another location without
paying exchange fees.